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Stop by Cafe Merlot in San Diego for a quick and tasty bite to eat.
Cafe Merlot is also a good option for those with special dietary needs, offering both low-fat and gluten-free items on the menu.
Drinks all around! Pair your dinner with a beverage from Cafe Merlot's full bar.
No need to splurge on a baby sitter — tots will be right at home chowing down at Cafe Merlot.
On warmer days, you can take advantage of Cafe Merlot's al fresco patio seating.
For those big group gatherings, Cafe Merlot provides plenty of space to have a good time.
Shake off the stiff workday duds at Cafe Merlot — attire is casual.
Love the food so much you want to serve it at your next soiree? No problem — Cafe Merlot offers catering.
Carry-out is also available for those who prefer to enjoy Cafe Merlot's cooking from the comfort of their own home.
Parking is available at an adjacent lot.
The average check at Cafe Merlot will stay below $30 per person, so it's a relatively affordable option.
Major credit cards — including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express — are accepted.
Cafe Merlot serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so stop by whenever is most convenient for you.

Jeff Roberto, a sushi expert, brings a plethora of experience to his San Diego sushi oasis. He has catered large events of up to 16,000 guests as well as the sets of such Hollywood films as Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and Elizabethtown. Inside SOAR (Sushi On A Roll) he constructs specialty rolls filled with shrimp tempura, seared tuna, spicy scallops, and sashimi and nigiri rolls featuring fresh water eel and squid.
Roberto also leads group explorations in the art of sushi preparation during interactive sushi-making classes held inside a private sushi bar. Two-hour classes commence with an assessment of how many edamame you can stuff in your cheeks before you begin tucking vegetable fillings in sheets of seaweed with the help of a bamboo mat. Students jot down notes on the proper consistency of sushi rice, when to sprinkle rolls with sesame seeds, and how to repurpose chopsticks as the mast of a ship-in-a-bottle.
A koi mural provides the backdrop for the expansive 30-seat sushi bar, which is outlined in neon to highlight the dramatic curve of the space. The expansive venue, which accommodates up to 100 people, is popular among large groups of friends looking for a fun outing and U.S. senators playing hooky. Free parking is also available.

Ron Eisenberg opened a shop that sold functional housewares in one section and greeting cards in another. He named the new business "Great News!" as a way to remind customers that the shop was constantly full of new items.
During the 1990s, Eisenberg began transitioning their business into strictly cookware. In fact, Ron turned the old greeting-cards section into a fully functioning cooking school. Today, that school boasts a fully outfitted kitchen where instructors and celebrity chefs share their wisdom during a wide range of classes. Nearby, the 5,200-square-foot retail space equips students of the craft with all the tools, gadgets, and cutlery they need, as well as advice from a knowledgeable staff.

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title: The Art Institute of California - San Diego, a Campus of Argosy University
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html_text: For more than three decades, The Art Institute of California - San Diego has helped its students unleash their creative potential—and that goes for more than the students seeking degrees here. The Institute's GETCreative program offers non-credit classes in art, design, and photography for anyone, plus culinary classes like A Day in the Sushi Kitchen. Other courses tap into both the right and left sides of the brain, helping students to use social media to bolster their small businesses or make memorable logos in Adobe Photoshop.

Avivit Erlichman honed her cake-making skills under world-renowned bakers in the Middle East and the United States, developing a baking philosophy built around beautiful presentation and using only fresh, preservative-free products. Avivit boasts a diverse culinary repertoire; she's able to whip up everything from Israeli cheesecakes, pecan pies, and lemon cakes, to savory couscous, chicken schnitzel, and stuffed peppers. As a proud mother of three, Avivit brings a wealth of experience with children to the kitchen table, helping kids of all ages unlock their creative potential during children's cake-decorating and baking courses.

In their urban kitchens from San Diego to Seattle, Hipcooks trains budding culinarians to build their own gourmet dishes from scratch. With more regard for cooks' instincts about taste than exacting recipe measurements, the classes are meant to be social learning experiences capped with a shared dinner. And the meals students learn to make are designed with a practical purpose in mind: an attempt to conjure up romance could feature a dinner of mushroom turnovers, pan-seared steak with polenta, and chocolate soufflé, and surprise guests may provoke an emergency menu of honey-pear salad and pistachio-crusted fish. Like a discriminating competitive eater, other courses focus on a specific cuisine. In Una Noche en España, for example, the chefs produce a wide variety of tapas, while students in Shortcut to Nirvana set the table with spicy curry and vegetarian samosas from the Indian subcontinent.

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For centuries, humans have turned to food in an effort to spice up their love lives.But can aphrodisiac foods really increase your sexual appetite? Spoilsports such as The Journal of Sexual Medicine and the FDA say it’s not possible, but Appetite for Seduction's Shani Delamor disagrees.
The self-proclaimed Sexy Living Diva and her husband teach couples how to use aphrodisiac foods to reignite the spark during intimate Manhattan cooking classes. While Shani explains why certain foods are thought to be aphrodisiacs, couples sip wine and create romantic dinners full of arousal-boosting ingredients.
Here's how to create one of Shani's sexy meals at home.
Course One: Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise SauceWhy It's Sexy: Asparagus is the key ingredient here. French couples used to dine on three meals of asparagus the day before their wedding in an effort to increase their libidos for the wedding night.In addition to its phallic appearance, asparagus contains energy-boosting nutrients and aspartic acid, which neutralizes excess ammonia in the body. Excess ammonia can lead to fatigue and sexual disinterest.
Course Two: Crispy-Skin Salmon Fillets with Honey Onions and SpinachWhy It's Sexy: The second course boasts honey, salmon, and strawberries. Honey contains boron, a trace mineral that increases the level of sex hormones in the body, as well as nitric oxide, which is released in the blood during sexual arousal.“We use salmon because it's from the sea and blessed by the god of love,” Shani said. Venus is also associated with heart-shaped strawberries, whose shape make them perfect for feeding significant others.Course Three: Fonduta di Cioccolato PiccanteWhy It's Sexy: This dessert incorporates chocolate, coffee, and red-pepper flakes.“Chocolate is actually a legit aphrodisiac, not just a fable,” Shani said. The famous aphrodisiac contains the neurotransmitters serotonin and anandamide, which contribute to feelings of euphoria during sex.Coffee, along with chocolate, contains caffeine, a stimulant that increases heart rate and blood flow. It also may give you the energy to have sex. Red-pepper flakes are made from chili peppers. These stimulate endorphins, increase heart rate, boost blood flow, and make you sweat, mimicking a state of arousal.
Photos: Green Asparagus by Sharon & Nikki McCutcheon under CC BY 2.0; Salmon Dinner-2 by Gwen under CC BY 2.0; Chocolate Frosting by Marcy Leigh with text added under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Check out some related reads:How to Make an Adrenal-Gland Cookie for Your LoveWhy give a gift from the heart when you can give one from your real love epicenter: your adrenal glands.The Sexy Vegan on the Sexiest Foods Around
Blogger Brian L. Patton (aka The Sexy Vegan) definitively determines the sexiest fruit, spice, utensil, dinner date, and other sexy food items.

It’s February. How’s that New Year’s resolution to eat healthier going?If the answer is “Not great,” or “I woke up after the big game mysteriously covered in ranch dressing,” then you’re in good company. And luckily, you can get back on track with help from Gina Homolka.Gina started her blog Skinnytaste in 2008 as a way to share her love of food and photography. Since then, her whole-foods philosophy has earned a huge following: millions of readers check in on her slimmed-down, full-flavor recipes—think buffalo chicken meatballs or flourless chocolate brownies—each month. In 2014, she published The Skinnytaste Cookbook: Light on Calories, Big on Flavor.Straight from its pages, this lasagna recipe lightens up the classic Italian dish by swapping in zucchini slices for the traditional noodles. Don’t worry, though—it’s still hearty enough for a warming winter dinner.Noodle-less Zucchini LasagnaServes 8 From the Cookbook: Thinly sliced zucchini ribbons replace pasta in this delicious, low-carb, noodle-less dish. This lasagna totally satisfies my cravings for cheesy and indulgent Italian comfort food. It’s perfect in the summer when I have tons of garden-fresh zucchini and herbs, but I also love making it during the colder months when I want something hot and comforting. Although it takes a little longer than most of my recipes, it’s totally worth it!
Ingredients: 1 pound 93% lean ground beef 1&1⁄4 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon olive oil 1⁄2 large onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil Freshly ground black pepper 3 medium zucchini Cooking spray or oil mister 1&1⁄2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese 1⁄4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1 large egg 4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (16 ounces)Directions: Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the meat, season with 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt, and cook, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces as it browns, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the meat in a colander and wipe the skillet with a paper towel. Put the skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Return the meat to the pan, add the tomatoes, basil, 1⁄4 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer uncovered 10 minutes, until thickened. Meanwhile, slice the zucchini lengthwise with a mandolin into 1⁄8-inch-thick slices (you should have at least 30 to 35 long zucchini ribbons). Lightly salt the zucchini with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and set aside for 15 minutes. Blot the zucchini with paper towels. Preheat a grill to medium heat (or preheat a grill pan over medium heat). Oil the grill grates or spray the grill pan with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Grill the zucchini until cooked and slightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and press to absorb excess moisture. Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg. Spread 1⁄2 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 × 13 × 21⁄2- inch baking dish. Make a layer of the zucchini over the sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Spread 1⁄2 cup of the ricotta mixture over the zucchini and sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Make another layer of zucchini, top with 11⁄2 cups meat sauce, 1⁄2 cup ricotta mixture, 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients for a total of 3 layers. Finish the lasagna by topping with the remaining zucchini and meat sauce. Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake 20 minutes uncovered. Add the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and bake uncovered until bubbling and the cheese is melted, 10 more minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.
Nutrition Info: Per Serving (1 Piece) Calories 275 Fat 13 G Saturated Fat 7 G Cholesterol 84 Mg Carbohydrate 13 G Fiber 2.5 G Protein 26 G Sugars 5 G Sodium 648 Mg
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